Marauder: Elegy of Blood

First of all, let's get the obvious stuff out of the way. So yeah, Marauder is a power/heavy metal band with over 20 years history behind it. And no, it never exactly revolutionized the genre or conquered the metal universe – even though it sure may be familiar to the die-hard fans of hard'n'heavy music all around the world. The important thing is, though, that Marauder's fifth album – Elegy of Blood – still delivers metal with enough vitality in it to kick the vulnerable asses of those who remember their springy debut effort all these years ago.

Everything on this album is at least "fine" and certain parts of it even rise to the level of "damn great". Things start off nicely with the double impact of "Elegy of Blood" and "The Great War", but the true goodness – at least for this particular reviewer – begins with the next track. It's called "Alexander" and it sports such infectious melodies that after two or three listens you just can't throw the sucker out of your head. And vocalist Alexandros Kostarakos does such an amazing job on it that from this point on many listeners will start adding his name to the list of their favourite heavy metal singers. Seriously. The track that follows, "Warriors", is a bit different, relying more on the great, bone-crushing rhythm than on catchy melodies, but it becomes equally addictive after several spins of the record. Another killer composition is the instrumental "Hiroshima" which, as the title suggests, forces the speakers to breathe the fire of mass destruction right at us.

The balladic "Mother" is arguably the album's weakest track; not that it's horrible, you know – it's fine, too, but as far as power ballads go, this one's rather derivative. Thankfully, all the tracks that follow it – and especially the energetic duo of "Black Gold" and "World War II" that closes the standard version of the album – rock much harder and again make you think that Marauder is no ordinary heavy metal band. "In Memory" is a welcome bonus track, but one that doesn't add much to the overall impression of the band and their new album.

Nevertheless, Elegy of Blood is definitely a title that should appeal to all the more traditional fans of heavy metal music. The kids will probably resist buying the album… Unless they are really, really cool kids, that is.

Line-up:
Alexandros Kostarakos - Vocals
Andreas Tsaoussis - Guitar
Giorgos Sofronas - Guitar
Thodoris Paralis - Bass
Grigoris Vlachos – Drums

Tracklisting:
01. Elegy Of Blood
02. The Great War
03. Alexander
04. Warriors
05. Roman Empire
06. Hiroshima
07. Mother
08. Crusader
09. Black Gold
10. World War II
11. In Memory (Bonus Track)

Added: October 6th 2012
Reviewer: Bartek Paszylk
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 1999
Language: english

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